Etruir
by A new dreamer
Summary: From the author of the Elysian series, a new project for you. The past binds the present. Enemy becomes family. A Guardian will rise to become the Savior. Guardian Series part 1
1. Teaser

Disclaimer: I do not own Oban Star Racers or any of its characters. I do own all people, places and things not used in the show. I am not making a profit off of this. I just want to make people happy with my writing. Please don't sue me.

Teaser

Note: This may become my new series if I get enough positive feedback. hint hint nudge nudge

_**From the Author Who Brought You the Elysian Series  
A new project of epic proportions  
The Guardian Series**_

_**First Story Etruir  
Bound By the Legacy of the Mother**_

A Guardian's power is lineal. You are your mother's only child, thus you are the next Dream Guardian, or as we called your mother, the Dreamer.

_**Raised By Her Blood Enemies**_

Taren's her big brother. Kitara's her younger sister. Karmena acts as her mother and teacher. Her protector, her father that acts more like her father than her blood-father, is Toros.

_**Becoming a Warrior**_

Three years of training came down to this. Dodge, block, roll, dodge, strike. Her opponent fell to the ground, senbon (acupuncture needles) sticking from his body.

_**Becoming a Savior**_

One attack, that's all she had left. Blood poured from various wounds. She lifted her hand and a blast of power erupted. He was gone, once and for all. The dark one was gone for good.


	2. Choice

Choice

Her name was Eva Wei and she had been abandoned by her father. Her mother had died two years earlier during a race. Her father had left her at the Stern Boarding School. It had become Eva's personal Hell.

This is where our story begins.

It was a normal day for seven-year-old Eva Wei. It was break time. Classes were over for the day, for which the young child was thankful. She really didn't like the teachers. She leaned back against the cool stone of a building and sighed. She was exhausted.

"So this is where you've been hiding," an adult female voice said from the nearby shadows. Eva gasped and spun around to try and see who was intruding on her solitude.

"Who's there?" Eva cried to the darkness.

The being chuckled. "I was a friend of you mother's, Eva Wei. Call me Shadow."

"Why are you here? Mom's been dead for two years," Eva said.

"I know. It's taken me this long to find you. I felt Maya's death. Every one of us did," the being said with sadness. "I made a promise to her long ago."

Eva was getting curious about this woman who claimed to now her mother. "What sort of promise?"

"Do you have you mother's ring?" the being asked. Eva nodded. "Do you know what it is for, what is symbolizes?"

"No, is it supposed to mean something?" Eva asked, picking at her mother's ring that hung from a small gold chain around her neck. The ring was gold and had some weird symbols etched into it. One of the symbols on the top looked like a fancy Celtic knot.

"Listen closely. When this universe was born, the Creator of All placed all of the universe's power on one planet, Oban. The beings of Oban were supposed to protect it. They failed and a war started on Oban that nearly destroyed them all. The Creator, seeing what had happened, took away most of the power and sealed it into Gates, which it placed on different planets. To protect these Gates, it gave powers unimaginable to beings of the planets. Those powers were locked into rings, like the one around your neck. Maya was a Guardian. I am a Guardian. You are a Guardian," the woman said. Eva stared at her in shock.

"The Guardians have immense power, but we have placed laws on ourselves to keep everything in order. Other races have also placed laws concerning us. That is one of the reasons I am here for you," she said.

"Here for me?" Eva said.

"I made a promise to your mother," the woman said. "I would take care of you if something was to happen to her. I am here to give you a choice."

"A choice?"

"Come with me and become my adopted daughter or you can remain here," the woman said.

"What? I don't even know who you are?" Eva hissed.

The woman chuckled. "Didn't your mother ever tell you about Shadow?"

"You're Shadow?" Eva said in awe. Her mother had told her stories of Shadow before the young girl had gone to bed. They were some of her favorite memories of her mother.

"My real name's Karmena, but I am also called Shadow," the woman said. "Now, what is your choice? Come with me or stay here?"

"But I don't know anything about you," Eva said.

"Then, to use Maya's words, close your eyes and listen to your heart."

"Huh?"

"Maya discovered that when a Guardian, no matter what class or power level, listens to their instincts, they are never, ever wrong. It has to do with our Gates guiding us to become stronger. So, do it. Close your eyes and listen to your heart."

Eva closed her eyes and concentrated on her heartbeat. A cold chill ran through her body, despite the warmth of the day. Warmth began to emit from her mother's ring. She placed a hand over it and opened her eyes.

"I'll come with you, Karmena," Eva said. "Just, can I actually see you first?"

"Of course, child," Karmena said and stepped out of the shadows. Eva fell back, eyes wide, with a squeak.

Kareman, the woman who just said she would adopt her, was a Crog.


	3. Father

AND: Hi everyone. So glad everyone is liking this story. I do admit. I want to get most of these first few chapters out of the way, so they may seem a little fast paced. Sorry, but I want to get to the real meat of the story. Hope you can forgive me. –bows deeply- Thank you very much.

On another note, I do have an idea for a couple for the next story in the series, but no romance in this first one. Sorry.

Note: **Bold Type** Crog Language

Father

"Crog," Eva said in fear and began to crawl away. Karmena laughed and shook her head.

"I'm not going to hurt you, child," Karmena said. "Guardians have this rule, practically a law: Honor your promises. I promised Maya I would protect you. I will not harm you, at least outside of training. I won't let anyone hurt you either. That is a promise on my word as Guardian of Darkness."

"But, Crog hate humans," Eva whispered. "They'll kill me."

"No, they won't. My people have had enough contact with other Guardians to make a few laws concerning us. You fall under Universal Guardian Law #2: in the instance of a Guardian being too young to accept their power, the Guardian shall then be adopted by another, elder Guardian, and accept that child as a member of the elder's race if you know what's good for you. That's the exact wording," Karmena explained with a shrug and a grin. "Let's go."

"How?" Eva asked as she stood up. She truly felt no ill will from the Crog in front of her.

"Shadow teleportation," Karmena said and held out her hand for Eva. Eva hesitated for a moment before taking the offered hand. Karmena pulled the young humans into the shadows.

It was heavy feeling. There was nothing but darkness surrounding the two. Eva felt like someone was choking her. She couldn't breathe. Then, the feelings vanished and new smells hit her nose.

First was the crispness of the air along with the smell of oil and mechanical grease. A cold blast of air hit her body and she shivered. Karmena wrapped the girl up in her large black cloak.

"Welcome to Cresayes, home of the Crog Empirium," Karmena said and pulled Eva toward one of the large metal doors. The corridor they were in was brightly lit.

"Where are we?" Eva whispered.

"My home," Karmena said and started to lead the way. "Now, I just need to tell my family about you."

"Your family?" Eva asked.

"Yes, my two children and my husband," Karmena said. "Kitara is my little girl. She's about 5 Kerestraes, 6 in Earth years. Taren, my son, is 9 Kerestraes, 10 Earth years. My husband's name is Toros. He's a soldier, a Colonel, in our army."

Eva felt her eyes widen and her face pale. She tried to make herself as small as possible. Earth schools taught that Crogs were the evilest of all the races and that they would kill any human they got their hands on.

"No need to fear," Karmena said and placed a hand on the young girl's shoulder. They finally came to another large door. Karmena sighed and placed a hand on the door. "Stay here. Come in only when I come for you. Do not wander off."

With those words, Karmena left Eva in the hall and entered the lushly furnished room. A desk sat at the far end of the rather spacious room. Sitting there, reading military reports from the electrotron, was her husband in full red armor. He grumbled something unintelligible under his breath.

"Subordinates being annoying again?" Karmena asked.

Toros groaned. "Yes. It seems like the new recruits cannot think for themselves."

"You need to relax," Karmena said and winced. "Unfortunately, I have some news that's probably going to make you even more stressed."

"What's wrong? Did something happen to the children?" Toros said and turned to look at his wife in worry.

"No, nothing has happened to the children. Speaking of the children, would you like to have another?" Karmena said.

Toros' eyes widened. "You're pregnant!"

"No, no. You remember how I am a Guardian? Good. I made a promise, many years ago, to another Guardian that if something happened to her I would take care of her daughter. She passed two years ago. I have recently found her daughter and decided to adopt her. She's a Guardian,"Karmena said.

"I see," Toros said. A sudden feeling of dread lanced through him.

"I assume you'll want to meet our new daughter," Karmena said, her ears perking up, the equivalent of a smile. Karmena crossed back to the door and motioned for Eva to enter.

Toros watched as a young, dark haired human girl-child walked in next to his wife. He did a double take. A HUMAN!

"Karmena!" he yelled. The girl-child shied away from him and hid behind his wife. The girl-child let out a whimper.

"Toros, lower your voice. You're scaring her," Karmena said as she stroked Eva's pitch colored hair.

Toros, beyond shocked and angered at his wife, slipped into the Crog natural tongue. **"She's a human, an enemy. You can't adopt her."**

**"I already have, and so help me, if you or any others try to harm her, I will kill you all. I may have not trained as much as before our children were born, but I am still a fear warrior and assassin," **Karmena hissed. Eva looked at the two Crog in confusion and fear. She didn't understand a thing they were saying.

**"Have you forgotten my status?" **Toros yelled.

**"Have you forgotten mine?"** Karmena said with what seemed a raised eyebrow like gesture.

Toros glared at her. **"You would use your Guardian status for a human?"**

**"I would use my status for another Guardian,"** Karmena growled out. Her hands were clenched at her side.

Toros blinked and looked at the girl-child again. **"She's a Guardian?"**

**"A future Guardian. She's too young to use the power of her ring,"** Karmena said with her voice calming.

**"What Gate? Who was her birth mother?"** Toros asked, understanding that he would not win this argument coming to him at last.

**"Her mother was Maya. She is the new Dreamer,"** Karmena said.

Toros stared at her a moment before turning to the frightened girl-child. "I am willing to give this a try. The Great Ones know you will protect her until the end of days."

"What my husband is trying to say is that he accepts you as his new daughter," Karmena said and made the girl come out from behind her.

"I am Toros. I am your adopted father," the large male Crog said as he kneeled down to her level giving her what was the equivalent of a Crog smile.

Suddenly, Eva didn't feel so afraid anymore.

Note: Kerestraes is a little over an Earth year. It's the Crog version of a year.

Electrotron is like a holographic computer that has a touch screen interface. Meaning, to move stuff on the screen, you have to reach up and move it physically. No mouses. Smaller, handheld versions can do all of that and acts like video cell phones. Hope that explains it a little.


	4. Siblings

Siblings

"She needs to be introduced to my brother," Toros said to Karmena.

The Crog woman growled. "If he knows what's good for him, he will not try to hurt her. She can meet with him in a few hours. That should be enough time to teach her basic manners."

"Have you met your siblings yet?" Toros asked Eva. She shook her head.

"Answer him verbally," Karmena said.

"No, sir," Eva said softly. Both elder Crog gave her a smile and patted her on the head. Eva cringed away from their hands.

"We aren't going to hurt you, Eva," Karmena said.

"No, Shailana," Toros said.

"Shailana?" Eva said, her head tilting in confusion.

"Shailana fits her well," Karmena said with a nod. "It's a traditional Crog female name meaning 'that which is born anew.' You are a human taken in by Crog, thus you will be born anew in our society."

"I think I understand," Eva said softly, her head bowed.

The two Crog shared a look without Eva, now known as Shailana, noticing. "I'll take you to meet your brother and sister now, Shailana."

"I'm going to need to get used to answering to that, aren't I?" Eva asked.

"Yes, that will be your name now," Toros said.

"But you should never forget you're Eva as well. Never forget where you come from," Karmena said and led her out of the room and back into the hall.

"Karmena," Eva whispered, "what were you two saying back there? I couldn't understand a word."

"That was the Crog mother tongue," Karmena said. "You will be learning it. Don't be surprised if some soldiers come to you to improve their Earth tongues."

"Oh," Eva said and turned her attention to the walls. Bright light fixtures were set in a metal that seemed similar in color to bronze about five feet from the polished stone floor. All around three colors were repeated: black, a dark burgundy, and silver. Soon the two came to another door, this one having a crest in black on it.

The crest was interesting. A flower that Eva had never seen being pierced by a weird looking sword and odd symbols written above and below the image.

"The dark has come. It is our freedom," Karmena said. Eva looked up at her in confusion. "It's the saying of this family, passed down from generation to generation."

**"Mom?"** a young female voice called out from the other side of the door.

Karmena chuckled and opened the door. Eva recoiled, which prompted Karmena to pull the human girl into the room with her.

**"You're back!"** a young female Crog cried out and launched herself at her mother. Her long burgundy dress flared around her as she clung to her mother. Eva had gasped and backed away when the Crog girl-child ran at Karmena.

"A human?" a male voice said from behind Eva. Eva let out a little shriek, making all three Crog wince at its shrillness.

**"What kind of horrible creature can make that kind of noise,"** the girl Crog said.

**"She's a human, from Earth. Did you pick up a slave for us, mother?"** the boy asked. Eva backed up into Karmena's side.

**"She's not a slave. She's your new sister. Her name is Shailana,"** Karmena said, patting the near hysteric human girl on the head. Eva looked up at Karmena when she heard her new name said.

**"You do realize Uncle is never going to allow this,"** the male said in a dull tone.

"Taren, hold your tongue. I adopted Shailana under the Universal Guardian Laws. Your uncle can do nothing," Karmena said.

"Um, excuse me, but this is the second time I've heard an uncle being mentioned. Why would he be a problem?" Eva asked. The two eldest, Karmena and Taren, stared at her for a moment.

**"What'd she say? What'd she say? I couldn't understand her,"** the girl, Kitara by Eva's reckoning.

"My brother-in-law is Telos, Emperor of the Crog," Karmena said. Eva stared at her new mother with wide eyes for just a moment before the shocks of the day caught up to her and she fell into sweet dark oblivion, not hearing Karmena's cries or feeling Taren catch her before she hit the floor.


	5. Uncle

AND: Hope you all like. It's a neccessary but boring chapter.

Uncle

Eva groaned as she awoke. Her eyes flew open as she remembered what had happened. Unsure if it was a dream, she sat up and took in the area around her. She was on a large bed under crimson covers. The walls were a black colored stone and silver lantern lights hung about the room, giving off a soft glow. Her clothing had been changed. She was now in tight black pants and a wine colored shirt that fell to her knees. A black leather-like belt encircled her waist, making the extra length of the shirt look like a short skirt.

"Not a dream," Eva muttered.

A low chuckle to her right caught her attention. In the doorway was the young male Crog, Taren, her new big brother. He simply shook his head, his ears twitching slightly.

"Right, not a dream. Mother wants to talk to you, Shailana," Taren said and walked toward her.

"Where?" Eva asked softly.

"I'll take you there," Taren said and offered his hand to her. She pulled away. "There is no reason to be afraid of me. Mother explained the whole situation. I will not harm any family member, whether blood or adopted."

Eva stared at his hand for a moment then took it. Taren gave her what she was starting to assume was a smile and pulled her up. Eva let out a little yelp as her bare feet hit the freezing cold ground. Taren snorted and pushed some shoes, black leather boots lined in fur. Eva glared at him and put them on, sighing as her feet were removed from the cold.

"Crosen, the capital city, where we are now, is always cold. It's located in a mountain range to the north of Cresayes. You'll be learning all of this with Mother and possibly Kit," Taren said. The two had begun heading for another room in the large house. Eva wondered if she would ever learn her new home's layout.

"We're here," he said as the two arrived at a black metal door with more symbols written on it. "This is the sitting room. It's where you'll be receiving lessons. Go on in. Mother and Father are waiting for you."

"Ok, but I do have one question for you, Taren," Eva said.

"You can call me brother, you know. But, what is it?" he said.

"How can you speak such good English?" Eva asked with a confused look on her face.

"It's taught in the Military Academy. It's a requirement since the war broke out years ago. Add in Mother knows the language from your **Meishi**, and you get why I can speak it so well. I can't read it well, though," Taren explained.

"**Meishi**?" Eva said in a whisper.

"Blood mother, birth mother, honored mother that's the closest I can get it in English," Taren said and pushed her toward the door. "Enough stalling, go in."

Eva hesitated and pushed the door slightly. It opened slowly and she entered. The room was decorated in reds, but wasn't overbearing. Furniture, sturdy and of a style she didn't recognize, was dispersed through the room. Sitting on what looked like a sofa without armrests were Toros and Karmena. Karmena motioned for Eva to sit on an ottoman-like thing.

"Shailana," Toros started. Eva lifted her head to look at him. She was getting used to answering to that name.

"You are going to have to meet your uncle soon. Now there are a few things you should know. First, your uncle is the Crog emperor," Karmena started. Eva paled considerably. "I won't let anyone hurt you, Shailana. Now, for how to act when he gets here. First, look him in the eyes and do not break eye contact until he does. You are of a higher station than him. You are a future Guardian. Second, bow slightly from the waist. Remember to not loose eye contact. If he makes to hit you, try not to cringe or fall back. Stand your ground. And finally, both of you let me do all the talking. Telos is still terrified of me after the incident."

"Don't ask," Toros said as he saw Shailana open her mouth to ask about the incident. "You really don't want to know."

Time passed as Toros and Karmena both taught the human girl how to act around her uncle. Eva's head was swimming with new information when the time came. Telos was on the other side of the door. Eva stood in between Toros and Karmena. Both were tense and Karmena kept rubbing a silver ring on her left middle finger.

**"Brother, Karmena, why have you both called me here?"** a large male Crog asked as soon as he entered the room. He wore armor, but that was mostly hidden under a large robe of crimson and gold. Upon his head sat a small gold crown. Eva caught his attention.

**"You've caught a human. Congratulations, brother. Is she a new slave for me?"** Telos asked. Eva's left leg stiffened, but she did not move. She stared into his glowing gold eyes and slightly bowed.

**"She needs to learn respect, but we can beat that into her,"** Telos said and pulled back a fist. He let it fly. Eva's body tensed. Her eyes widened, but she did not move and did not break eye contact. A black blur caught his fist before it could get near her.

**"She is my daughter,"** Karmena said as she tightened her grip on the offending fist. **"You will not harm her."**

"But she's a human!" Telos yelled in anger.

"I am also a future Guardian," Eva said, repeating the exact words Karmena had told her to say and placed a hand on the golden ring around her neck.

"Do I need to remind you of the Guardian Laws?" Karmena said with malice dripping off her voice. Telos began to sweat and he looked about in panic. The shadows of the room began to bend into twisted shapes.

"Does she at least have a name?" Telos said in a whimper. Karmena was not one of the Guardians you wanted at your throat.

"My name is Shailana," Eva said with confidence. Telos accepted that and ran like the hounds of hell were on his tail. Eva grinned. She had been accepted by the Crog emperor. She would get to stay with her new family.

And so, the story of Shailana, the Crog princess, was born.


	6. Lessons Year 1 Discovery

AND: Here begins Eva's combat lessons. Eva is now referred to as Shailana unless someone is directly calling her Eva, for some reason. Some people will want to kill me after this chapter. Sorry. And None, there is a reason I changed her name. This is planned for a three long story series. The name change becomes important in the second story and exteremly important in the third. If you want to know more, drop me a line at my email myladyofthemoon hotmail. com.

Lessons- Year 1-Discovery

Shailana awoke at the normal time, the rise of the first sun of Cresayes called Lesca. She figured it calculated around 5:00 am on Earth. It was an unholy time to get up. But she had learned her new parents took the responsibility of training her seriously. After three days of intense lessons, Shailana could understand a good percentage of the Crog language. Her accent was a little off and she sometimes got letters confused, but at least she was able to communicate.

It had been five seteraes, the Crog equivalent of a month, since she had arrived on Cresayes. She had been studying etiquette and a few other languages from different planets just in case. She had been spending time with her siblings and had found out some very useful bits of information from them.

-Flashback-

As Shailana passed by Kitara's room, she was startled by the sound of a small explosion and smoke coming from under the door. Fearing the worst, she flung the door open and gaped. It was the first time she had seen her sister's room.

The room looked like something out of a mad scientist movie. Two tables, one full of glassware and burners, the other with electronic equipment, took up most of the middle of the room. On one wall was a large cabinet filled with different vials and jar of strange looking substances Shailana had never seen before. On two of the other walls were shelves filled with electronic parts. A small bed was shoved up against the wall, looking like it was there as an afterthought.

**"Shai?"** Kitara said from the ground. She was covered in white ash and in what mounted to a lab coat.

**"Hurt? All right? You need mother?"** Eva said in broken Crog. She was still learning and Kitara couldn't say many things in human.

**"I'm fine. Just a little explosion,"** Kitara said and shooed Shailana out of her room.

-Flashback-

Later Shailana had learned that Kitara was a genius in sciences, but a failure in languages. Kitara had invented or improved items used by the Crog army. Shailana tended to avoid Kitara's room after that. She was scary.

Taren was a lifesaver. Really. He saved her life one day. Some of his friends/cell mates from the military academy had come over…

-Flashback-

**"Well. Look at this. Taren's got a human slave. What do you think we can do with her?"** one of the older Crog boys said. He was older than the others, maybe 14 Kerestraes in age. That could mean two things, Shailana knew. One of the lessons Taren had taught her was the ranking system in the academy. You were ranked by ability. If this Crog was so much older than the others, he was either an idiot or in training to be a ranking officer. Shailana bet with her luck it was the latter.

**"Not slave,"** Shailana said, meeting the leader's eyes and not backing down. The leader Crog's eyes widened and he growled. Shailana still did not back down. He pulled back a fist and let it fly. Shailana dodged around it and kicked him hard in the gut.

**"That's it. Now you die, slave!"** he yelled and came at her with ferocity. Out of seemingly nowhere, Taren appeared with his blade resting on the older Crog's throat.

**"Do not mess with my sister,"** he hissed. "Are you ok, Shai?"

"I'm fine. Thanks," she said and bowed.

-Flashback-

Shailana shook her head and focused on where she was going. She was having her first combat lesson that day. Sure, she had had some lessons on Earth, but Crog fighting was a whole different deal. A grin plastered on her face, she speed up on her way to the training hall. The large **Ucron**, noble house, that her family lived in was one of the larger ones in the city. After all, Toros was a prince, technically.

**"You're early," **Taren said from her right. She hadn't even realized she was at the training hall.

**"I guess I'm excited,"** Shailana said with a grin. Taren chuckled. His sister was an oddity.

**"Then you can start looking through these,"** Karmena said as she carried a large box toward the duo. **"As a human, Crog fighting style wouldn't be much good to teach you. You're simply too small."**

**"Then what are these?"** Shailana asked.

Karmena's ears lifted, a Crog smile. **"You're Meishi's training journals. She wrote step-by-step instructions and has quite a few diagrams in them."**

Shailana looked at the box with wide eyes and almost literally dove into the books as soon as the box was set down. She opened the first book she came to and began to read. Her eyes grew larger as she read on. Grabbing another book, she stared in shock with her mouth dropped open. Taren and Karmena, who were sparring in the center of the room, turned to look at her when she let out a squeak.

**"Something wrong?" **Karmena said.

Shailana stared up at her and showed her one of the books. **"Why didn't you tell me Meishi was a **NINJA(1)!"

1-There is no word for Ninja in Crog.


	7. Lessons Year 1 Weights

AND: Here's the next chapter, just for you all. Please review. I live for feedback, people! Just for a note, this stroy will have next to nothing to do with the Great Race. Wait for the next story for that.

Lessons-Year 1-Weights

"Ninja?" Taren asked in confusion, sounding out the new word.

"Ninja are an ancient type of warrior. They were faster than lightening, agile as the wind, and as deadly as a Crog assassin. Ninja, or shinobi as they were also known, were elite assassins. These books tell about how **Meishi** was the last of a ninja clan and copied everything down for me," Shailana explained. "If these books are right, I could be a powerful fighter."

"What would you need?" Karmena asked, memories of Maya's speed and kill rate in battle filling her mind.

"Weights. I know the gravity of Cresayes is a little more than Earth. That should be even better. Then, I'll need to talk to a weapon smith, maybe even sis," Eva said with a thoughtful look and flipped through the books at random.

"What do you need to see a weapon smith for?" Taren asked and touched the hilt of his energy blade. "Let alone Kit."

"I'll need to get some special weapons made, and sis can probably help me with poisons and such," Shailana said with a smirk then frowned. "I'll need weights first. Do you know where I can find some? They need to be wearable."

"An armorer could probably make them. Guess I'll be introducing you to Palilis early," Karmena said and sighed. "Training is suspended for today until we can get Shailana set up."

"I tell Dad and Kit," Taren said and took off.

**"Let's go. We have quite a walk to Palilis,"** Karmena said and began to lead Shailana out of the compound. Shailana was surprised. Her family didn't let her out of the compound often. The last time she had been out, she had to run home after a rather large mob tried to kill her for being human.

**"Lady Karmena?"** another female Crog called from a nearby shop. Her eyes went to Shailana immediately.

**"Asni, what is it?"** Karmena asked.

**"I had heard you had a human slave. Congratulations,"** Asni said, rubbing her hands on her heavy yellow dress.

**"I am no slave,"** Shailana let out in a hiss. Her eyes narrowed as Asni backed away with wide eyes. Karmena chuckled and began to lead on once more.

**"That was good. Never let them talk horrible about you,"** Karmena told her daughter. Shailana nodded. Crog stared at the duo as they continued down the street. Tall, dark colored buildings lined the street. There was little decoration other than signs declaring what shops there were.

Soon the duo was outside a large shop. Shailana winced at the smell, that of fire and sulfur, coming from within. Something her family had discovered quickly, she had a more sensitive sense of smell and taste than they did. The smell barely bothered Karmena, who walked into the shop. Shailana winced and followed her mother.

**"Palilis!"** Karmena cried out. A large male Crog spun around from his place at a forge. Younger Crogs, male and female, scuttled about the shop as well. They were apprentices by their brown clothing Shailana noted.

**"Lady Karmena, what are you doing here? I thought you would be coming by later with your new daughter,"** Palilis said as he glanced at Shailana.

**"We discovered something interesting. Shailana needs some weight clothing for her training," **Kamena said and pushed Shailana forward. Palilis looked over her over and called one of his apprentices over. Grabbing measuring tools, the two Crog took all the measurements that they would need to create a weight pieces for the young human-Crog. After a brief discussion, a bit of time, and currency changing hands, Shailana had armbands with weights in them as well as leg bands that settled near her ankles. She felt heavy.

**"Well, I'm a lot heavier now,"** Shailana muttered and began to move. Karmena chuckled and kept with her daughter's slow pace.

**"You'll be able to get rid of them once you can bare your Meishi's ring. Give it a few years,"** Karmena said. True, the Gate Ring of Dreams would allow the barer to move quickly, enter the dreams of other, and control crystal.

**"Now what?"** Shailana asked. Once again, she was getting odd stares while the two walked down the street. Some were whispering and pointing. Other simply glared. Tension was building and Shailana had a feeling she would not like where it was going.

**"Now we head home. My younger brother, you haven't met him yet, can make you some weapons. Throwing knives, needles and those star things that your Meishi was so fond of, not to mention a proper Engist,"** Karmena said as the two started on the way back to the family compound. Karmena sent glares at anyone who would dare look at her daughter with hatred or anger. Shailana would soon prove to them how much of a Crog she could be.

Engist-A Crog sword that has the same capability for energy blades as the Trident ships. It can be used as a basic sword or a film of energy can be on the blade. Hope that makes sense.


	8. Lessons Year 1 Blade

AND: Hope you all like. Please review! REVIEW!

Lessons-Year 1-Blade

There was darkness around her. She knelt on the cold floor, her head bowed, ears opened for any sound. A swish in the shadows sounded. She leaned her body back, black hair flying about in all directions. A fist flew just above her face. She could feel the wind coming off of it.

"Good," Taren said as he pulled the blindfold from her eyes. Shailana looked up at him and grinned. She was training her senses to be near that of a Crog. She would never have their sense of hearing, but she would never be caught unaware.

"Think I'm ready for your sword training now, Taren?" Shailana said with a grin.

"You'll need to get a bit more practice with your sword first. Then I'll teach you basic forms we learn in the Academy. You'll have to change them for your own use," Taren said. Shailana chuckled. It was becoming an interesting pastime to watch her come up with ways of adapting Crog fighting lessons to her own style, which was heavily influenced by her Meishi's old books.

To put it simply, Eva focused on speed more than strength. She also tried to keep her endurance high. After all, what good is it to be fast if you can't keep it up for long?

Shailana got up and headed for a shower. She stunk, and while the smell didn't bother her family, it bothered her. Getting out of the bathing room, she dressed in her night-clothing and fell into deep slumber. Tomorrow would be her birthday.

The dark covered the land. The twin moons of Cresayes were covered by clouds. A storm was brewing for the next day. One being, shrouded by the shadows, crept up under the window of the Crog royal family's newest member. His glowing orange eyes set in a glare. He threw a hook up and winced at the noise it created when it found the ledge. Waiting a few seconds to ensure he wasn't discovered, he started ascending to Shailana's bedroom.

_"Soon we won't have to deal with that _thing _in our midst much longer. Everyone will view me as a hero for removing the one who is fogging our royals' minds,"_ he thought.

He pulled himself up onto the ledge of the princess's room and a sadistic light entered his eyes. He removed a lock picking set from a pouch on his hip and set to work opening the balcony door to Shailana's room. Quietly, he snuck into the large room and malice filled his glowing eyes. On her bed fast asleep was the little human. At least, that's what he thought.

Shailana, having a Guardian and a military Colonel for parents, had been taught to never be far from a weapon. She had heard someone enter her room via the window. She kept her breathing even, even with fear lacing through her. Her hand clasped her sword that she always kept at her side. Her attacker's shadow reflected on the wall due to the dim lights in her room. She saw the shadow lift a knife and plunge it downward. Shailana rolled out of the bed, pulling her blade from its scabbard as she went.

The male growled at her. Shailana let out a loud shriek, thus alerting the rest of the household. The Crog, realizing he had better hurry and kill the human before he was killed himself, lunged at her. Shailana moved out of the way and slashed with her blade. The Crog let out a yell as the blade cut deep into his skin. Dark blood flowed down to the floor. He let out a roar and struck again.

Shailana pulled herself out of the way. Heavy footsteps were coming from the hall. The Crog tried once more to kill the human girl. Shailana felt her muscles tense and she struck forward. She activated the energy feature of her blade and stabbed it through her attacker's chest. He let out a gasp and a loud gurgling sound echoed in the air. The male Crog slumped to the ground just as her door opened and her family stood there with weapons drawn.

**"Shailana,"** Karmena gasped and ran toward her daughter, cradling the young, terrified girl in her arms. Shailana's eyes were glassy and not seeing anything other than the dead Crog in the room. Her sword was still sticking in her opponent's chest.

Taren and Toros were examining the body. Taren kicked the corpse's side. Toros looked over the body for any form of identification. And behold, he found a tattoo on the body's left palm. His expression became hard as he recognized the symbol as the house insignia of the House of Korokan. The attacker had to be either General Kross or his brother Kamilan, a simple soldier. The color of the ink, dark silver, meant that the attacker was Kamilan.

**"Shailana,"** Karmena called again. Kitara was rubbing Shailana on the back, trying to pull her out of her state of shock.

**"I killed him,"** Shailana whispered.

**"It was kill or be killed,"** Karmena whispered. She knew this was a very important milestone in her eldest daughter's life. It was a milestone she wished would have come later.

Innocence lost is never regained.


	9. Acadmey Entrance

AND: Hi everyone. hope you're still reading and enjoying. This is primarily an inrtoduction into the next part of our story. After this chapter we skip a lot of time. I just don't want to write out every single thing that happens to Eva/Shailana for the next few years and get down to the nitty gritty part of the story. Then when that's done we can go on to the much more interesting parts of this series.

Academy-Entrance

Time passed since the assassination attempt. Shailana had grown over the year, and not just physically. Sure, she had longer hair, was taller, and was starting to develop a lean muscle tone. She had grown greatly emotionally as well.

The assassination attempt had placed a mark on her. Shailana had withdrawn for a short time before Kitara had gotten fed up and smacked some sense into her, literally. Shailana had had a headache for three days afterward. She had gotten out of her funk for the most part. She understood that it was kill or be killed, and she certainly didn't want to be killed.

"Shai!" Taren called out from ahead of the now 7 Kerestraes human-Crog princess.

"What, Taren?" Shailana said as she approached her brother. He had the Crog equivalent of a broad grin on his face.

"Father just got done speaking with the headmaster of the Academy. You've been accepted," Taren said. Eva stared at him with wide eyes before letting out a high pitch squeal, causing him to wince.

Female rarely went to the military academy. Most female Crog preferred to stay on the homeworld while the men went to war. Eva also had the problem of being human, thus thought of as an enemy by many. Though, to be fair, most were quickly becoming scared half-to-death by the human-Crog. She had gotten a lot faster and very accurate with her throwing weapons. Let's just say males avoided annoying her at all costs, ok.

"It'll be a select grouping of classes. You can't fight like a Crog, so combat lessons are out. You will be getting tactics and language lessons, not to mention history, ethics, law, and traditionally practices," Taren said. Yelling could be heard from a near by room. Taren and Shailana both grinned as they recognized the voices of their parents and uncle. Telos was whimpering over their combined might. He gave into whatever they were demanding from him. A door creaked open and Telos stumbled out. He turned his attention to Shailana, who gave him a dark smirk. He let out a squeak and ran away.

"I take it Taren has told you that you will be attending the Academy next term," Toros said from the doorway. Shailana nodded and smiled. "You'll be tossed into the forge fire."

"And I must not break under the cold," Shailana said. It was an old Crog saying that Shailana tended to live by.

* * *

Eva groaned as bright light hit her eyes. She sat up with a groan and hurriedly dressed. It would be her first day in the Military Academy. She was both anticipating and dreading it. She was worried about how her classmates and teachers would treat her like. After all, she did look like a human. 

**"Shai, get moving. I'm walking with you to the Academy,"** Taren called from the other side of the door. Shailana sighed, grabbed her supplies and ran out the door. Taren laughed at her disheveled hair and starting leading her to the Military Academy.

The building itself was huge and grey. A large yard was out in the front. Native plants, most a color of brown or black, were scattered about. Benches were placed here and there. Other students were milling about the yard. Shailana took a deep breath and plowed forward. Her first stop for the day was the main office to get her schedule.

**"Excuse me,"** Shailana said as she entered the office. The secretary took one look at here and looked away. Shailana suppressed a growl. She pulled out one of her smaller throwing stars and sent it toward the Crog woman. The secretary's eyes widened as the projectile zoomed past her ear.

**"I said excuse me. I need my schedule. Name's Shailana Kindolan. Can I have my schedule now?"** Shailana said in annoyance and held out her personal Electrotron for the secretary to download the schedule onto. The secretary gave Shailana her schedule and sent her on her way. After all, the secretary had heard about Lady Karmena's adopted daughter. Anyone taught by Karmena was bound to have anger issues.

Shailana grumbled under her breath and looked at her schedule. Her first class of the day was languages. She groaned and headed off for the classroom at the fastest walking speed she could get away with.

Opening the door to the classroom, Shailana was met with the stares of the few other students who were there as well as the teacher, who glared at her. Shailana ignored the looks and took a seat. Opening a textbook file on her Electrotron, she began to study. She gave a slight smirk. The first lesson was in English, her first tongue. A loud, low chime rang throughout the school. Students charged into the classroom before the second chime tolled. Many stared at Shailana as they entered. Few dared sit close to her.

**"Welcome, class. This is Languages class. I am Instructor Refir. You will call me Instructor or Sir. The first language we will be study is what Earth-humans call English. Shailana Kindolan!" **Refir barked.

Shailana stood up. **"Yes, sir!"**

**"You are from Earth, are you not?"**

**"Yes, sir!"**

**"Read the first line of the text."**

"The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog," Shailana read from her Electrotron. The other students looked at her in shock.

**"You have an accent,"** Refir said with a wave of dismissal. Shailana sat back down and paid attention to the lesson. Best not to get on the instructor's bad side on the first day of class.

After that class was over, Shailana hurried to her next class, tactics. Finding a seat and getting stared at by more students, Shailana let out a sigh. At least this teacher wasn't glaring at her.

**"Greetings,"** a male student said as he approached her. Shailana looked up at him and raised an eyebrow. Two other males were behind him. All three looked to be about 10 Kerestraes.

**"And you are?"** Shailana said.

**"Name's Edobaun Killgore. These tow are Larco Pinderkind and Shivurin Munurisam,"** the first said.

**"Shailana Kindolan, but you already knew that. You two are in the same language class as me,"** Shailana said with a slight twitch. The late bell chimed and the three boys sat down near her. The instructor came in and began to teach. Shailana sighed. It was going to be a long couple of years.

AND: Ok. That's all for Shailana's first day. Here's the list of her classes in order. If anyone wants to write omakes about this story, go ahead. Send them to me and I'll put them at the end of the chapters. For those of you who don't know, omakes are like little stroies or clips at the end of a maanga/anime/fanfiction that have littleto-nothing to do with the story. Thakn you.

1-Languages with Instructor Refir

2-Tactics with Instructor Kooma

3-Ethics with Instructor Vigonjin

4-Lunch

5-Law with Instructor Mirokan

6-History with Instructor Pandoran

7- Independent studies in replacement of combat

8-Traditional Practices with Instructor Jeshinmar


	10. Academy Final Begin

AND: Ok. Big time-skip. Shailana's now 11 Earth years/10 Kerestraes old. She's still in the Academy. I just couldn't think of anything to write for the school years. It's not like anything exciting happened. I may end up sticking some flashbacks in here and there throughout the final exam.

AN2: I am so sorry because of the little typo at the end of the chapter. My cousin, who likes to read over my stuff and mess with me, changed some things and i thought I had caught them all. My bad. I missed one.

Academy- Final Begin

Time passed, as it tends to do, and Shailana got used to going to the Academy. She had started working ahead in languages, an area she had some talent in. Her other classes were normal. She had made friends with the three boys she met in tactics.

**"Shailana!" **Edobaun called as the human-Crog entered the Academy yard. The Crog male and his friends had eventually, after much annoying of Shailana, become friends with the stand-offish princess. Edobaun and the two other guys were standing off to the side. Becoming friends with the human had made them outcasts. They really didn't mind.

**"Final's today. If we pass, we graduate, much to the pleasure of our Instructors,"** Shailana said as she walked over to them. Larco placed an arm around her shoulder, earning him a glare from Shailana. He quickly pulled away.

**"Yeah, dropping us out in the middle of no where and hoping we survive,"** Shivuran said.

**"Don't forget being hunted by our other classmates. Think we'll be on the same team?" **Shailana asked.

**"Probably, Shai,"** Edobaun said. The group, because of their long names, had nicknames for each other. The boys used Shailana's nickname given by her brother: Shai. Edobaun became Edo. Larco turned to Lark. Shivuran became Shiv. It made conversations and missions easier.

**"But that'll mean we need one more person for a full team. Knowing my luck, it'll be one of the idiots,"** Shai said with a shake of her head. Many a student resented the princess for her abilities. They took to tormenting her and her friends. They were always paid back in full when the instructors had their backs turned.

**"We'll be together,"** Lark said. **"The instructors know we get along together and will protect Shai. Knowing Shai's family, they'll have bribed the Academy to put us together to protect her."**

**"What is the current count for assassination attempts?" **Shiv asked. He scratched his ear, which had a silver scar over the top. He had gotten that scar protecting Shai from another student wielding a knife.

**"I think it's around 37 or so for the year,"** Shai said and sighed. The class bell rang and the quad ran to their class.

**"Everyone here? Good. Today we begin the final examinations. We, your instructors, have separated you into teams of five. Each team will be given the following: rations for 3 days, 1 medical kit with emergency beacon, survival gear minus portable shelter, and a signature stone. The signature stone will have the symbol of your team on it,"** the head of the Academy said to the 25 students gathered. **"We will be sending you to the Draven Crater to survive for a week. Your team will be your unit. The goal of this exercise is to survive and acquire the other teams' signature stones. Do you understand?"**

**"Yes, sir,"** the students barked as one.

Instructor Refir stepped forward with his Electrotron. **"Teams are as follows. Team Sword will be Norim, Landur, Filian, Shedur and Kempri. Team Dagger will be Mashli, Trihli, Hahli, Wehli, and Volhli. Team Sheild is Killgore, Pinderkin, Munurisam, Kindolan, and Korokan. Team Whip will be Ninimi, Dan, Quan, Kinmil, and Shoon. Team Gun will be Pipfis, Xyrai, Umurolon, Gangragan, and Thursisas. Meet up with your teammates, get your supplies, and meet at the transports in one hour. Dismissed!"**

Our group of four held in their groan as the pompous Crog known as Morithius Korokan, son of General Kross, approached. He didn't look any happier to be stuck with them.

**"Let's get one thing straight, I don't like you, but I am going to pass this test. You can either help me or get out of my way," **Shailana told the new male, who glared at her. The ties between the Kindolan and the Korokan had plummeted since the attempted assassination when Shailana had killed the younger Kokoran heir.

**"That's something we actually agree on, Kindolan. Let's go get our gear and get this over with. I don't want to be trapped with your four for any longer than I have to be,"** Morithius said and headed for the quartermaster.

_Why me? This is going to be hell._ Shailana thought as she and the other boys followed. It was going to be a long two weeks.


	11. Final Find a Base

AND: Sorry I've taken so long in updating, but I've been busy. I have a few projects I'm working on for college classes and they're taking up all my time. Please forgive this one for her faults.

Sorry for the repost, but messed up my formatting. sigh

Final-Find a Base

The Draven Crater was said to be about 4 Sukre (Millenium) old and was created by a meteor long before the Crog people walked on two legs. The crater walls were at least 15 kiso (miles) straight up. The crater was 47 kiso across and mostly covered in dense forest, but a small lake had formed in the northwest area and was fed by a few small streams that cracked out of underground springs. If it wasn't for the wild animals in there, it would be paradise.

The Academy students stood in five groups in front of their instructors. Shailana ignored the instructors giving the rules. She knew the instructors would look the other way for any team that attacked hers. Instead she listened to the forest's sounds. She could hear animals prowling and birds singing. The instructors clapped their hands and the teams headed out into the forest.

"**I know this place,"** Shai whispered as she looked around the small groove of trees that had scratch marks going up the trunks.

"**You know this place?"** Edo asked.

"**Yeah, Mom brought me here a year ago so I could get some special practice in. I made all these scratch marks. If I remember correctly, there should be a cave system near here. It would make a good base,"** Shai said. The other, even Morithius, agreed to check out the cave.

A few minutes of walking and they had found it. It was hidden by some vines and debris, but beneath that exterior, there was a perfect place to make a base. There was a small chamber, just large enough for the guys to squeeze through. Further on was a much larger chamber with sunlight streaming in from a few small holes in the ceiling. Along the walls was a type of glowing lichen that gave off more light. There were further tunnels with one leading to another exit behind a large ledge in the cliff and hidden but trees and other vegetation.

"**This is amazing,"** Shiv said as he looked around. The lighting was just right for their eyes. Shai had a slight difficulty with her eyes, but she could make out shapes in the dimness.

"**Even I have to admit, this place is nice, human,"** Morithius said. Shai gave him a withering look as she turned back toward the entrance they had just come through.

"**Where are you going?"** Lark asked.

"**Booby trapping the outside entrance. I'll show you guys the safe way when I'm done,"** Shai said and exited outside. A feral grin spread across her face as she dug around in her pack for a few supplies.

An hour later the boys knew where all the traps were located and how to avoid and disarm them should they need to. The group had agreed as a whole it would be safest to keep rotating who carried the signature stone. Figuring out who would have what jobs was a whole different matter.

"**Reconnaissance, you?"** Moritihus said as Shai volunteered for the job. She glared at him.

"**I am trained for that job specifically,"** Shai growled. The other three boys backed away.

"**What can you possibly do that another can't?"** Morithius growled.

"**I can get into small spaces and I am less likely to be seen in a tree than you,"** she said and poked the annoying Crog male on the arm.

"**Don't touch me,"** he growled. Shai just gave him a smirk.

"**I'll do reconnaissance,"** she said in finality. Morithius growled at her and swiped his fist at her. Shai grabbed hold of his fist, used momentum to flip herself up, and kicked him in between his shoulders. He fell flat onto the ground face first. The other boys winced as she landed on the ground.

"**Morithius,"** Edo said, **"I wouldn't insult her talents again. Don't underestimate her."**

Morithius just growled once more and pulled himself up. Rubbing his sore face, he glared at Shai's back. He looked like he was going to attack her until he saw the knife in her left hand.

"**Alright, you can do reconnaissance,"** he growled as Shiv and Lark let out low chuckles.

And that's how that little issue was settled. The next day the Shield team decided to start gathering food. After all, they only had two days of rations left. Shai wandered deeper into the forest than the boys. She was searching for another team when she was attacked.

She had barely heard the rocks falling from the treetops when she passed a heavily sheltered area. She heard a small chuckle from that direction and reacted. A knife flew from her hand toward her hidden opponent. A smirk appeared as she heard the hidden soldier's cry of pain. Then he had to have tripped the trap. Shai let out a groan as she moved quickly and agilely through the branches. Jumping down the tree to the forest floor, she took off at a fast speed toward her teammates. She heard no others following her.


	12. Why You Don't Tick Off a Ninja

AND: Well, do you all like it? Please tell me. I'm a sap for reviews.

Why You Don't Tick Off a Ninja

Three days had passed since Shai was attacked while out on reconnaissance. The Shield team was doing well. There had been no other attacks, but it was early in the game. The Shield team had taken the time to set up traps, for both Crogs and animals, and trained. The first training session was interesting.

-Flashback-

The boys stared openly at Shai as she went through an early morning kata. Her movements were quick and precise. She grinned as she leapt into the air and bounced off the rocky side of the cave. The boys scattered as she landed where they had been standing.

**"What's wrong, boys? Never seen a **ninja **train?"** Shai asked with a smirk. The boys stared at her in shock.

**"What's a **ninja**?" **Morithius asked, a small amount of awe filling his voice. The boys had never seen a being move that fast with that much grace and precision. It was unheard of in Crog fighting.

**"A **ninja** is an assassin trained in speed more than strength. A **ninja** can move undetected amongst enemy camps. Pretty much, a **ninja** is a scary opponent,"** Shai explained.

**"You can't be that good,"** Morithius said.

Shai smirked. **"You want to try me?"**

**"Why not? I could beat you in no time,"** Morithius said. Shai's smirk became much larger as she struck out. Morithius moved back and fell into Shai's trap. She seemed to disappear from in front of him. Morithius gasped as a palm was thrust into his back right between the shoulders. He fell to the ground in pain.

**"There's an advantage of having an assassin for a mother. She taught me all the weak points on a Crog,"** Shai said with a smirk and laughter in her eyes. Morithius growled at her from his kneeling position on the floor.

-End Flashback-

Since that day, Morithius had challenged Shai everyday with just about the same result. Sometimes he would end up unconscious though.

**"Well, we're pretty well set up. All we can do is wait,"** Edo said with a sigh.

**"We've already trained and I'm exhausted. What you guys want to do?" **Shiv said with boredom in his voice.

**"We shouldn't be lounging around like this,"** Morithius said with a snobbish tone. Shai rolled her eyes. Morithius glared at her. She simply grinned back. The other boys laughed.

BOOM! CRASH! **"Ow!" "WHAT THE?"**

The Shield team was up to arms in an instant. That was the sound of their traps going off and two Crog being caught in them. Shai, being the smallest and quickest, was the first to view the scene. She promptly started to laugh.

In the trees, tied up by their ankles, covered in leaves and sticky sap, were two Crog boys in full armor. They were glaring at the laughing girl as her teammates exited the cave.

**"Very interesting. Whip team, am I right?"** Edo asked, though his voice was trembling from holding back his laughter.

**"Yeah, what of it?"** one of the boys said.

**"You do realize how stupid it was to attack us?"** Shiv said, his eyes slanting and ears perking up in a Crog smirk.

**"Why's that?" **the other captive said.

**"Simple. We have one of the best pranksters in the Academy on our team. No one messes with Shai and gets away with it,"** Lark said.

The first captive glared and then smirked. **"So she is your whore."**

**"What?" **Shai said in a dead tone, all traces of laughter gone from her voice. Her teammates all stared at her with wide eyes. The entire area became quiet as even the animals sensed her anger. They feared the more dangerous predator.

* * *

2 kiso away the rest of the Whip team was tending to their smokeless fire.

**"How long until you think they get back with the Sheild signature stone?"** one asked.

**"Not long. After all, Sheild has the human,"** another said. Suddenly, two objects were thrown into their camp. The entire Shield team was standing there. Morithius and Edo, as well as Shailana, were covered in blood. Shailana's eyes were cold and fury radiated her form. The two objects were covered in blood and suddenly moaned.

**"Give us your signature stone or we do to you what we did to them," **Lark said. The rest of the Whip team quickly gave up upon seeing the status of their teammates. The Shield team left as quickly and quietly as they came.

**"Which of them did this to you? What did they do to you?" **one of the uninjured Whip team members said to their injured brethren.

**"The human, Shailana, she pulled out these knives and disappeared. She's the one who did everything. She's insane, a monster,"** one of the injured said.

With the Shield team, they were walking back to their base silently. Shailana had her head bowed, not really watching where she was going, trusting in her teammates to be on watch for her. She had lost control of her temper, a temper that made many Crog look tame in comparison.

**"Shai," **Shiv whispered and placed a hand on her shoulder.

**"I'm ok. It's just that I lost my temper,"** Shai whispered. **"It wouldn't have been my first blood if they had died."**

**"You've killed?" **Edo asked.

Shai looked over at Morithius who stared back at her. **"Yeah, many years ago."**

**"Who was it?"** Lark asked in awe. For someone so young to have killed, they would have to be a super warrior.

**"My uncle,"** Morithius said with a growl.

**"He came after me in my room in my home at night. I reacted and ended up killing him," **she explained.

**"He was a drunkard and more than likely drunk when you killed him. In a way, I owe you for killing him,"** Morithius said reluctantly. The others all looked at him in shock.

**"So the rumors were true,"** Shai whispered.

**"Yes. We believed he beat his wife and daughter,"** Morithius said. The others all gasped. To be violent against one's family was unheard of in Crog culture. The men respected their wives and daughters for who else kept the armies supplied while the men were away at war.

**"We need to plan. The other teams are bound to hear about this,"** Shailana said, attempting to change the topic. The others agreed and began to make battle plans as they arrived back at their base.


	13. Omakes

AND: Hi, everyone. Here's a short, extremely short, chapter that has nothing to do with the main story plot. It's kind of like a few omakes strung together instead of a story chapter. Hope you all enjoy.

The sun was setting and everything was as it should be, with the exception of a truly angry human living amongst the Crog who is trapped in the middle of a forest with an idiot and has enemies out for her blood.

Yeah, just a normal day for Princess Shailana of the Crog.

"I hate my life," Shailana muttered and pulled herself out of the thick, sticky, foul smelling mud she had dove into to avoid her pursuers.

She turned to glare in the direction that the other Crog had went when she heard a scream, well, more like a group of screams. Running back into sight was the Crog who had chased her. All five of them were screaming like little girls.

Shailana stared as they ran by her and began to laugh as she saw what was chasing them: a very large, very POed black shadow cat (think black panther).

For future reference, Karmena never let any of her children go anywhere without a shadow cat watching them. The boys learned this the hard way.

* * *

Kitara grinned as she poured the two liquids together. Soon she would have the ultimate poison. Letting a high pitch giggle escape, she pored the glowing green concoction into another beaker. The mixture began to fizzle and pop. Kitara stared at it with wide eyes for a moment before ducking behind a table.

BOOM!

Glowing green gunk was splattered all over the walls. Kitara groaned. It was back to the drawing board. Maybe she should add less of…what did Shai call it…oh yeah nitroglycerin to the mix.

* * *

Taren stared at the three Crog lying before him. They were all unconscious, bleeding from multiple cuts and looked like they wouldn't be carrying on their family line. He winced. Up above him, hidden in shadows, was the one who had done this heinous crime.

"So, Shai, what did they do to you this time?" Taren said and looked up to his sister.

She had a huge grin on her face.

"They were annoying me," she said simply.

AND: I need some help people. If anyone wants to write omakes for me, please contact me either through review or email. Thank you.


	14. Final Ends

AND: Hi! How is everyone? Thanks to all my loyal reviews for their feedback. Please continue to do so. This is a long chapter. I wanted to get the Finals arc over with so I could get on with the story. I'm also in a bit of a dark mood. My apologies if that comes out in my writing.

Final Ends

Shai was the first awake. She groaned and sat up. The green glowing lichen the cave gave her just barely enough light to see. She pulled away the hides that served as her blankets and got ready to fix breakfast. The boys mumbled as her movements woke them. They sat up, bleary eyed and got dressed in their armor. Only two more days, including the current one, remained to the final exam. After fixing and eating breakfast, Shai moved off to change into her armor. They would strike today.

Her armor, given to her just before the final exam, was exquisite and matched her fighting style perfectly. First was the black bodysuit followed by some light chest and shoulder armor. It was a darker red, the color of dried blood. Then came the belt with various weapons such as kunai and senbon. Her sword hooked onto her right side. Skirt like armor followed, protecting her major veins in her legs. Her boots, armored but light as well, were made to make as little noise as possible and not leave prints. Finally she took a thick, black leather chocker as a primitive defense against throat wounds.

She was ready for battle.

**"You ready, Shai?"** Edo called. She simply nodded and gathered up the rest of her belongings into her pack. The Shield team would not be returning to their base.

**"We move quick and strike all at once. I'll be going after the Gun team's stone by myself. I'll be counting on you guys to give me cover," **Shai said as they stood outside their base. Their packs, much lighter than what they had started with, were hanging over their shoulders.

* * *

The group moved through the shadows, Shai sticking to the trees where she wouldn't be as easily noticed. The group traveled for three hours before they slowed to a stop. In a nearby clearing was a camp, the camp of Gun Team. Silently motioning to her team that she would be going around to the rear of the camp, Shai seemed to disappear into the shadows of the trees.

She circled around to the rear of the camp. Tree limbs barely moved as she seemingly glided over them. She stopped and waited. Soon would be her time to act. There, a war cry. Lark always did have a big mouth. Silently moving, keeping to the shadows as much as possible, Shai approached the Gun Team's camp. There, in the main shelter, was the signature stone. A smirk flitted across her face as she grabbed it and took off for the forest shadows once more.

Nearby, she met up with her teammates. There were no serious injuries, just a few scrapes. The Gun team had the members known for their long-range skills, not exactly the best skills to have in this kind of test.

**"Let's go. One down, two to go,"** Shai said. Edo's ears perked and his eyes slanted, the Crog had a devious look on his face.

**"Next up is Dagger, right?"** Lark said.

**"Yeah. Their base is surrounded by trees," **Shai said. She had watched the Dagger team for long periods of time. They hadn't noticed her in the shadows of the branches. Idiots, though powerful idiots they were.

**"Chances for ambushes," **Morithius muttered and caressed the hilt of his sword. The other boys gave grave looks. Ambushes were not good.

**"Moritihus, Lark, you two will take the eastern side of the camp. Edo, Shiv, you guys take the west. I'll go in solo from above," **Shai said. The boys balked at her going alone. There was no doubt in their minds that her family, namely her mother, would kill them if something happened to her. Her plan did make sense. She would be the only one to be able to get the drop on their enemies, thus having the element of surprise. Morithius and Lark were both sword users with complementary styles. Edo and Shiv relied more on their short daggers as their primary weapons, using the sword only when they must.

Reluctantly agreeing, the boys headed off to get in position. Shailana stared up at the sky for a few moments before taking to the trees. She moved smoothly and silently through the dark purple and dull red leaves of the Kumpana trees. She winced as she heard the fighting begin. The boys were waiting for her to drop in. A sigh escaped her lips as she leapt down from above, knives flying from her fingers. Silver mixed with black, the color of Crog blood, on the ground.

**"The human bitch,"** one of the Dagger team boys said. Shai glared at him as she landed in a crouch on the ground. Her hair still flying upward from her descent, she whipped around and thrust both palm flat against his chest. He went flying backwards a few feet. Shai grinned and jumped away. She was going to have fun playing with them.

A few hours later, the Dagger team was unconscious, tied up a tree, covered in the Crog equivalent of honey called pika, and there were shepi, Crog flame flies, being attracted by the pika. Shai let out a chuckle as the Shield team walked away from the soon to be in pain Dagger team.

**"Shai, don't you think you over did it a little,"** Shiv said as he heard the Dagger team awaken to the bites of the shepi.

**"They shouldn't have called me a bitch,"** she said with a shrug. The boys all stared at her for a moment before setting up a small camp for them to rest at.

**"We attack sword at night," **Morithius said.

* * *

The night was dark. No light filtered through the clouds in the sky. Shai kept low to the ground. The Sword team had ambushed her on the first day in the forest. She stayed close to Morithius, who was her partner for this raid. Checking her nerves, she pulled out two of her throwing knives and took a deep breath. Morithius glanced at her and gave her somewhat of a Crog grin. Morithius, after you got around his holier than thou attitude, was a decent guy, Shai admitted to herself. She nodded to him and the two began their part of the attack.

The plan was simple. The Sword team had made their camp in an area surrounded by the cliffs. There was only one entrance and only one exit. That was where they would attack. Shai deactivated the traps with her long distance weapons while Morithius acted as her body guard.

The others moved in, quickly taking the Sword team by surprise. There was very little resistance. The Shield team left the Sword team tied up in the center of their camp. The Shield team left into the darkness and got their sleep for the night. The next day was the pick-up day.

**

* * *

"Well, everyone but Shield's present, sir," one of the Academy instructors told the Headmaster. He sneered. Trust the team with the human to be coming last minute.**

**"Someone's talking about us!"** Shai called from a branch above the others. The rest of her team stepped out from the shadows. The other teams all glared at them. Shai just smirked at them all.

**"You made it on time. I'm surprised," **one of the instructors said. Shai just rolled her eyes at him and leapt to the ground. She gave a nod to her teammates, who each held up a signature stone.

**"I do believe that we have all the signature stones, Headmaster, sir. Where do you want them?"** Shai said in a sweet voice. The instructors stared at them in shock. How in the name of Kale and Koras had they gotten all of the signature stones?

**"I do believe, according to the Academy rules, that we have passed this test, sir," **Morithius said. The headmaster twitched before nodding.

* * *

Far away, in the watching room of the Academy, many of the instructors let out howls of indignation as Taren and his troops gathered their earnings from the betting pool. Taren's eyes glowed in delight. He knew his sister would win, it was a matter of skill after all.

Notes: Kale and Koras are the Crog main deities. Kale is the god of war and Koras is the goddess of the forge.

AND: Now we get to go on to the really good stuff, meaning you finally get to find out why this fic is called Etruir!


	15. It Begins: The Call is Heard

AND: And we finally get to the good stuff. Most of the fic previous to this was filler stuff that is needed as background for the next 2 fics in the story, but have very little to do with the remaining plot of this one. Sorry about that. Well, anyway, enjoy the next chapter of Etruir.

It Begins: The Call is Heard!

Time passed, as it often does, and Shailana grew into a promising warrior, though she did not join the military due to her status as an un-awakened Guardian. Taren and his troops had been stationed on Byrus to help with the invasion Toros had led. Kitara, still the scientist, was making new poisons and various other unpleasant concoctions for Shailana's use. Karmena had begun Shailana's true Guardian training a few weeks after the human-Crog's thirteenth (Kerestraes, 12 years in Earth) birthday.

Gurdians come into their power around the time they hit puberty. Their bodies began to grow at a frantic rate, so the power had less time to get settled into the Guardian's body structure so as to augment the natural abilities in place and to add some new ones. Unfortunately for Shailana, human females had a nasty surprise waiting for them when they entered puberty: the menstrual cycle.

Let's just say the Crog learned to calculate her cycle and avoided her for 2 weeks every melas (the Crog equivalent of a month1).

Moving on, Karmena and Shailana were sparring using their Guardian powers. Karmena used the shadows like whips and chains to hold her opponents in place and then finished them off close range. Shailana favored long distance fighting with her crystals hitting vital points to weaken her opponents before she went in close for the kill. Both women Guardians were highly efficient assassins.

The Guardian of Dreams was classified as a sub-earth elemental power2. Basically, she could control anything with a crystalline structure. As such, her birthday gift from her mother had been a large collection of crystals sharpened to a point. Once her power awakened, she learned to do many tricks with her crystals and had even bought more to experiment with.

A shadow reached out for Shailana. She dodged around it and sent three crystals at her mother. Karmena dodged and narrowed her eyes. Her daughter was truly a good fighter, a consequence of her education. Karmena smirked and melted into the shadows. Shailana growled and pulled out three silvery crystals. Holding them up, she closed her eyes as she commanded they release their light. A flash much like a flash grenade went off. Karmena let out a yell and was pinned up against the wall by her daughter's sword.

**"That's enough, Shailana,"** Karmena whispered. Shailana gave her a smile and backed away. **"You have learned all I can teach you. It is time to build your own destiny."**

_**Help! Help me! Please, I ask for the aide of my kin! Hel…**_a male voice called out into both Guardians' minds and suddenly cut away. Shailana fell to the ground, clutching her head. Karmena merely winced and leaned back against the wall.

"What was that?" Shailana said, slipping back into her native language due to the lingering pain.

"A summoning of help from another Guardian. I believe that was Kumashi. He's the Guardian of Light on Etruir," Karmena said and sighed. "We need to go help him if he's sending out a random call for help. He would never ask me for help if he didn't have to."

"Then let's go," Shailana said. Karmena chuckled and summoned a servant to inform the rest of the family they were leaving on Guardian business on Etruir.

**"Relax and focus on your ring. I'll take you since this is your first time teleporting to a Gate,"** Karmena said and placed a hand on Shailana's shoulder. Cold flowed over her skin, sort of like being dunked in water. Shailana gasped as the two Guardians landed before a scene of horror.

The Gate was covered in scratches and burns. What had to have once been white marble was dull and covered in soot and a dark green liquid. Karmena touched the liquid and shivered. It was Enisial, the race of Etruir, blood. Scuff marks on the floor showed a battle had recently taken place in the Gate room. Shailana was tense. The air itself seemed to be filled with hate and the echoes of war.

**"What happened here?"** Shailana whispered and took a step toward the exit. Karmena watched her for a moment and followed. The moved silently through a long tunnel made of some sort of porous igneous rock. The two Guardians gasped as they came upon the exit to the outside world.

1- The Crog year is equivalent to 547.5 Earth days. They have an extra day every other year. A melas is around 60 Earth days. If you really want to figure it out and make a calendar, you are welcome to. The months are as follows:

Nol

Hanua

Taup

Woum

Bithich

Quin

Candura

Pakagral

Mani

2- Guardian powers are divided into six main elemental classes which are then divided into subclasses. The main element classes are earth, fire, wind, water, light and dark. Karmena is dark element subclass shadow. Shailana is earth subclass crystal. Kumashi (you'll meet him next chapter) is light subclass illusion, meaning he can create illusions that feel real.


	16. Land of Desolation: Etruir’s Catastrophe

AND: For those of you who are wondering, an omake is like a short drabble that has nothing to do with the story. They're usually humorous. Well, on with the show!

Land of Desolation: Etruir's Catastrophe

The ground was covered in carbonized grass that disintegrated when touched. Boulders near the entrance to the tunnel had claw marks and burn patterns etched across its surface. In the distance, large fires sent up copious amounts of smoke into the already cloudy atmosphere.

**"This is not right,"** Karmena whispered. Shailana looked over at her. **"Etruir is a world of lush vegetation. The area around the Gate of Light was always filled with flowers and grasses of varying colors. It looks like someone torched this place."**

**"Karmena?"** a male voice called out in heavily accented Crog. Both females winced at the sound.

"I know you can speak English better than Crog, Kumashi," Karmena said and turned around. The space near them rippled, like heat rising off the ground on a hot day. A young man with dark green skin, pale purple hair and blue eyes stood before them. He was dressed in white armor that covered his chest, arms and legs, leaving his three toed feet bare. He held up one hand, which only had three long fingers tipped with one inch long claws.

"Yeah, Maya made sure I could. Who's the kid?" Kumashi said. He eyed her warily, for she was wearing Crog armor.

"My name is Shailana," she said.

Karmena snorted. "She's Maya's kid. I am keeping my promise to her."

"I see," Kumashi said and turned away from them and started walking. Karmena followed. Shailana stared at the iridescent wings that jutted from his back for a moment before hurrying to catch up to him and Karmena.

The trio moved swiftly through the fire touched wasteland. Kumashi, Shailana noted, was fast for a bipedal dragonfly-elf hybrid. After going about a mile, the air began to cool and a few bits of grass popped out of the charred earth. The sky, a dark red that Shailana had a feeling wasn't natural, began to darken.

"We're almost to the base," Kumashi whispered and began to move at a faster pace.

"Kumashi, what is going on? What happened to your world?" Karmena finally asked as the two Crog caught up to him. He looked at her with dead eyes and looked back before him. The Etruir native made a break for a nearby cave in a sheer cliff. The two women sighed and followed at a slightly slower pace.

"Be careful and stay close," Kumashi said as they arrived at the cave entrance. He still ignored Karmena's question. The two women nodded and followed the purple-haired man. The cave was dark, dank, and cold. The darkness hid spires of calcite and some other mineral that irritated Karmena's skin. Shailana stifled a sneeze from the moist air. Soon, the group started walking toward a distant light.

The two women gasped as the cave opened to a large cavern.

Globe of crystal gave off bright light. Etruirsians wandered about the streets between tents or flew from place to place on their iridescent wings. Soldiers polished their weapons. A few beings of other races milled about a large tent at the center of the city.

"Ladies, welcome to the resistance headquarters. You're the last Guardians we've been expecting," Kumashi said.

Shailana felt her eyebrow reached her hairline. "You were summoning me?"

"Well, you can access your Guardian abilities, yes?" Kumashi said, turning to look at the preteen.

"Powers yes, armor no1," Shailana said. Kumashi gave her a surprised look and turned to Karmena who nodded gravely. "I am a trained warrior."

"Well, um, let's go see the others. We need to set up a plan and you need to be briefed on what happened," Kumashi said.

The two women began to walk down the narrow stone path that led down to the cavern bottom. Shailana was extremely happy she had no fear of heights. Running through trees would do that. The two female Guardians gazed around in awe and concern. The Etruirsians were clearly depressed. Many gazed at them with hope in their eyes. Few had smiles on their faces. Babies cried and clutched their tearing mothers. The three Guardians came to the center of the tent city and entered the large cream colored tent. Standing around all sides of the tent were other beings Shailana assumed were Guardians. Her assumptions were proved right when she noticed the Keys on each of their fingers.

"Thank you, everyone, for coming," Kumashi said and stood in the middle of the group. "I know you are all wondering why I have called you here. You al saw what has happened to my world. Things have grown dark, my brothers and sisters. Three weeks ago, invaders came to my world. They destroyed everything. They razed the land, set it alight with flames. Their leader attacked my Gate and me."

"What does this have to do with us?" one of the male Guardians, a young Mauian2, asked with a growl.

"Simple Lescan of Stone," Kumashi said. "The leader is very familiar to me. Their leader is Miraki of Flame, and she was using her powers very actively."

Notes

1-Guardians have two "powers:" their elemental powers and the ability to summon a mystical type of armor. Eva/Shailana has only used her elemental.

2- Mauians are cat people. They basically look like cats standing on two three-jointed legs. (Ever seen Gargoyles? Think of how their legs look.)

AND: Well, things are getting interesting. Hope you all enjoy.


	17. Past Exposed: Maya's Achievement

AND: I'm so glad everyone likes this story. Thank you for all the nice reviews. Sorry for the short chapter, but I wanted to explain Miraki's motive in a way before we get to the fighting. After this chapter, we get a lot of blood and fighting. You have advanced warning!

Past Exposed: Maya's Achievement

"Miraki," Karmena hissed. Everyone turned to look at her and quickly looked away.

"Yes, Miraki the traitor," Kumashi said. "She is here and leading her followers against my people."

"Then we have an uphill battle," the Nosferian, a race of pale skinned bat-people, said.

"Very true," Lescan murmured, his tail twitching in annoyance. The meeting went on from there. By the end, it was decided Lescan and Shailana would be guarding the makeshift city, as they were the youngest. Lescan, Shailana discovered, was only two years older than her. Of course, he was considered an adult by the Mau.

"Great, we're on guard duty," Lescan hissed.

"Be thankful that we're being allowed to do this. I have a feeling the others, minus mother, don't want us to be here. They think we're too young," Shailana said and leaned against the cool cave wall. The two had begun a perimeter check to familiarize themselves with the area.

"Yeah, yeah," he said.

"Lescan, do you know the story behind Miraki?" she asked. She knew the name from somewhere, like a memory from a dream.

"I heard some things from my predecessor," Lescan admitted after a moment of thought. "You should ask yours."

"My blood-mother died when I was four," she replied in a bitter tone. The sting of her Meishi's death had never vanished completely from her heart.

"My apologies. I never heard what Gate you guard though," Lescan said.

Shailana grinned as the two continued moving around the tent city's edge. "I am the Guardian of the Gate of Dreams on Earth."

Lescan froze in mid-step and spun around to face his companion. "You are Maya's child?"

"Yeah, why?" Shailana said in confusion. Why was he reacting like that?

"Guardian Maya was the Guardian who originally exposed Miraki's betrayal. If Miraki knew her daughter lives, well, let's just say there wouldn't be much left of you," he said.

"Tell me what my Meishi did. I know little of what she did as a Guardian," she said.

"Ok," he said in a sigh. "According to what I heard, Miraki was from the planet Zenua. She was a princess, the fifth in line if I remember correctly. Well, near Zenua there was a group of non-Gate planets. Miraki conquered them with her Guardian powers, an action not forbidden by the Laws. Then, she turned her attention to Vialesico, the planet the Gate of Song is located on. She killed the Guardian and took his Key. Maya, somehow, discovered her plot and confronted her along with six other Guardians. The story said it was Dream, Shadow, Light, Ice, Flare, Agility, and Strength that fought Mairaki and banished her to the darkest part of the universe, Oraun Quadrant. Obviously, Miraki got loose and built up an army again. My bets are she's going to go for each of the seven who defeated her last time; then take over the universe."

"Wow," Shailana whispered and stared wide-eyed at the Mauian boy. Her Meishi had done all that. Shailana felt as if she had a lot to measure up to in her time as a Guardian.


	18. Blind Attack: Hear the Screams of the De

AND: Now we come to the bloody parts. Forgive me, but it is needed. YOU ARE WARNED!

Blind Attack: Hear the Screams of the Dead

It was night when it began. That was the only thing Shailana would remember about the time before blood soaked the ground. There was an explosion on the far edge of the tent city. The elder Guardians had gone to investigate, leaving Lescan and Shailana alone.

Out of the shadows not more than a mile away, enemy troops invaded the refugee camp. Both Guardians leapt in fright as a blood curdling scream filled the cool night air. They ran as fast as they could to the area the scream originated and had to force themselves not to loose their stomach contents.

The ground was soaked with dark green blood. Bodies were piled up in the streets. The Enisials' wings had been torn from their bodies before their throats were slashed. Shailana sent up an alert signal to the others.

Te two young Guardians nodded to each other and followed the carnage trail. Shailana did a trick her instructors had taught. Simply shut down your emotions until you have the chance to deal with them. Emotions on the battlefield can be dangerous. While she was not a master of the technique, she was good enough to deal with the current situation.

"How could this happen?" Lescan growled.

"They knew the elders would investigate the explosion. My bets are on Miraki being there and these being her followers," Shailana said and stopped as she noticed a flash of metal in the glowstone light. It was all the warning she got before they two were ambushed by at least 30 soldiers all wearing black armor.

They were not a race Shailana had encountered in her studies. They had long faces covered in black fur and glowing green eyes. Their ears were large and shaped more like a butterfly than any other shape. Their hands, stubby fingers and all, held various bladed weapons.

"Not good," Lescan muttered and summoned his armor from his Key. The ring around his left middle finger began to glow grey before covering him in the light. As the light faded, the Mauian boy was covered in armor with only his face and paws unarmored by the grey material.

"Yeah, not good," Shailana said as she fended off her attackers with her blades. Her gaze flickered across the area before she noticed a small, thin pole sticking up from one of the green blood-soaked tents. She grinned and leapt to the top of it. Beneath her, the enemy she had been fighting skewered his ally. From her lofty post, she rained shuriken and throwing knives.

Lescan, on the other hand, was not doing well, even with his summoned armor. He had various scratches on his paws and face. His armor was scratched up as well. The enemy began to avoid Shailana's land of death and focused on the short-ranged Mauian fighter.

"Why haven't you summoned your armor?" Lescan yelled to her.

"I don't know how!" she replied as she leapt off of the pole, which the enemy had cut down. She spun in midair and impaled another enemy with her blade as she landed. Dark blood began to stain the cavern floor black.

Heavy, long footsteps rose over the sounds of the battle. Nearby a large jet of flames caught three of the tents on fire. Screams of pain filled the air. The enemy, now down to three, was quickly dispatched. The two young Guardians took a moment to catch their breath and headed directly for the area of the fire. The duo stared in shock at the sight they met.


	19. Here in the Darkness a Light is Born

WARNING: Blood and violence

Here in the Darkness a Light is Born

Miraki stood before the elder Guardians. All were wearing their Guardian armor. Miraki, the insane auburn furred Zenuan1, flicked her wrist. A long whip of black fire lashed out from her red and silver gloved hand toward the elder Guardians. They leapt away and the whip exploded on contact with the ground.

Shailana pulled Lescan out of the open and into a more hidden spot. He glared at her, which she promptly ignored.

"What are you doing?" he hissed.

"Were you only watching the fight or did you see what else is out there?" Shailana muttered and peaked out from their hiding place. Lescan looked at her in confusion and followed her lead.

At the far end of the street, a rather large group of Enisials were being guarded by more of the black bodied creatures Mirkai had brought to battle. The Enisials looked afraid and worn. Most were children. Shailana held back a gasp as she realized why.

Miraki was going to raise them to follow her.

"That bitch," Lescan growled as her too realized what Miraki was planning to do with the children.

"We've got to get them out of here," Shailana said. The duo made note of Miraki's position and started to slink through the shadows toward the trapped children. Shailana reached the enemy first and struck, hitting the vitals in the neck. It dropped to the ground. Lescan, taking her cue, leapt out of the shadows like the panther he resembled. The children turned away and clung to one another as the two Guardians made quick, clean kills of their enemies.

_"Safe, friend, go, hide,"_ Shailana said in broken Enisial. Kumashi had taught the Guardians a few commands in his native tongue in case something, such as an attack like this one, happened.

The children looked up at her with wide eyes and scattered into the shadows. There were hidden tunnels all through the cavern. The Enisials had many backup plans should they be attacked in their city. It was what helped them survive the first attack. The children would more than likely run to the nearest underground city and warn the Enisials there.

"Shailana!" Lescan suddenly yelled and tackled her. A whip of flame cracked where she had once stood. Miraki growled at the two young Guardians and then chuckled. Shailana stared up at the woman in shock and a bit of fear.

"This is the best you could summon, Light. The Guardians are getting pathetic. I'll change that when I take over, of course," the Flame Guardian cackled. Shailana and Lescan began to crawl away from her, but never let their eyes leave her. to turn your back on an enemy like her was certain death.

Karmena growled and summoned the shadows into the shape of claws. Moving her hand to drive the claws, the shadows retched forward and clipped Miraki's side as the dark woman jumped out of the way.

Lescan grabbed Shailana's shoulder and pulled her away with his strength. He motioned for her to stand back. Moving behind him, she suddenly saw why. The cold stone floor, now littered with corpses and blood, began to ripple like water. Miraki hissed and leapt onto a nearby pole. Lescan smirked and the stone surged upward, trying to envelope the Flame Guardian.

"Perfect place for my powers," he muttered. "Listen, your armor is summoned by your wish to protect. Focus on that and your Gate, and you should have no trouble."

He left her side and joined in the fray as the elder Guardians attacked full force. Shailana stood near the shadows and looked down at the golden ring on her left middle finger. She focused on her will to protect herself, her family, the people of Etruir, and her Gate. The Celtic knot on the top began to glow dimly. This glow became brighter until it blinded her. She closed her eyes and held back a gasp as the changes happened.

Nearby, the other Guardians, including Miraki, stared at her. Karmena, realizing what was happening, smirked. Her daughter, while not related by blood, was truly amazing.

"It can't be," Miraki said in shock. Her temper began to flare and she shot a flame at the glowing girl. There was a bright flash and a golden gloved hand swatted the flame away.

The glow faded and revealed the now golden armored Shailana. The gloves were gold and reached her wrists. A small, clean crystal was on the back of each gloved. The armor covered her chest and led down to a skirt made of two layers and connected by a band of gold around the waist. One layer was like a flexible gold. The second layer consisted of a thin, barely noticeable mesh of crystal. Her shoulders were protected by shoulder armor with small teardrop shaped crystals hanging from them. Her boots were up to her knees and made of a shimmery opaque, flexible crystal. Around her neck was another band of the flexible crystal glowed. On the center of the chest, a large crystal with the same Celtic knot carved into it rested. Finally, the tattoos she had on her face, which were eerily similar to her mother's, were a soft silver, a color near that of the flexible crystal. Her hair flared out behind her, no longer bound.

"Nice," Lescan muttered as Shailana opened her eyes.

Miraki froze at the child's gaze. Her eyes, wine red like that of her most hated enemy, stared at her. It was like something from out of a nightmare. She screamed in rage and thrust flames out toward the human Guardian.

Shailana leapt over the flames and dashed toward Miraki. She thrust her hands out and struck as many times as she could before having to dodge the flames the now enraged Guardian sent out.

"You! How? Maya is the Guardian of Dreams!" Miraki screamed and attacked the Dreamer once again.

"Maya is dead. She died in a racing accident seven years ago," Shailana said as sge dodged. The other Gaurdians, coming out of their stupor, attacked Miraki as well. Miraki let out a loud howl and the shadows literally exploded as hundreds of her balck armored servants charged the Guardians. Miraki laughed maniacally and ran off. Shailana growled and started to pursue her. The black armored warriors closed the path as she ran pass.

Notes

1. Zenuans look mostly like humans except they are covered in thick fur and have eyes like a hawks. They can see about as well as a falcon. They have slightly elongated canines.

There is a picture of Shailana in Guardian form at www. deviantart. com /deviation/ 52143344?qo12&qby3Amagicknightnova&qhsort3Atime+-in3Ascraps


	20. Dance of Insanity: Rhapsody of Blood

WARNING: Blood, gore, violence, and death…lots of death.

Dance of Insanity: a Massacre in Rhapsody

Shailana ran as fast as she could. Miraki kept ahead of her, heading for the scorched surface. Her armor let off a soft glow in the tunnels as she continued after her quarry.

As she exited the cave, Shailana held back a gasp in shock. All over the burnt plains were those black armored creatures. There had to be at least a thousand. Miraki stood before them. Shailana shifted into a defensive stance.

"So, Maya is dead and you are the new Dream Guardian," Miraki said with a sneer. She waved her hand and her army of followers lowered into offensive stances.

"Too bad you must die for your predecessor's mistakes," Miraki said.

"I will not die," Shailana said. "I am my mother's daughter."

What happened next was something that would be told throughout the universe and something that would haunt Shailana for years to come.

The black army advanced on the solitary Guardian. Something inside of her snapped. With a fierce roar, she rushed forward and impaled the first being she encountered with her gloved hand. Blood covered her arm as she moved on to the next victim. Another fell to a kick that broke their necks. Grabbing one of the fallens' staffs, she twirled in around her and decapitated five more enemies. Blood now splattered across her armor and face. Her eyes were filled with rage and madness. Miraki fled to the rear of her army as she watched them being pulled apart, literally, by the young Guardian.

Blood and tissue soaked the scorched ground as Shailana continued her trek toward the traitor. Something within her, something primitive, was pushing her to kill all in her path. They were a threat. Threats needed to be taken care of. Her eyes, now more like the color of her own blood than the wine red they usually were, narrowed as she took note of all those surrounding her. She growled and leapt into the air. The crystals in her loose hair detached from their strings and sped toward the enemy below, like a deadly shimmering rain. The bodies fell, unrecognizable, to the ground. Shailana fell gracefully back to the ground and began to direct the now black blood and tissue covered crystals into the enemy, as well as killing them with her stolen staff.

"What is she?" Miraki whispered in shock. The young Guardian acted as if possessed.

"I am," Shailana said in a deep voice. She looked up, her blood soaked hair sticking to her face, and gave the Zenuan a feral grin. The other black armored foot soldiers backed away from her.

They weren't fast enough.

Meanwhile, the other Guardians had dispatched their opponents and ran toward the fight they could hear. Weaving through the darkness, with Karmena leading the way, they stood frozen at the sight that greeted them as they exited from the cave.

Only a handful of black armored soldiers remained, and they were not in any fighting condition. Most were in death throws or missing a limb or two. The ground was painted black by their blood. But that was not what caught their attention.

Shailana was standing before Miraki, who looked afraid.

"What are you?" Miraki said, terror gripping her voice. She took a step back. Shailana grinned and struck forward, abandoning her nearly destroyed staff. With movements like a viper, she hit every point she could on the Zenuan. Miraki screeched and leapt away.

"What am I?" Shailana said in a mocking tone. Her voice was odd. It did not sound like her. "I am Ave."

"Primal," Karmena whispered. The other elder Guardians turned and repeated her word in loud, shocked voices. For a Guardian to enter a primal state was uncommon. One of Shailana's age was unheard of.

Primals were the base instincts that were in the minds of all beings. However, due to a Guardian's spiritual powers, the primal instincts could take on their own personality. This personality could only be performed if the Guardian was under extreme duress with death as the most likely outcome. The spiritual energy reacts and makes a new personality that has no problem with doing whatever it takes to survive. The spiritual energy also gives the primal intelligence.

"Primal," Miraki said, hearing the reactions from the other Guardians, and flicked out bit a flame before the wild-eyed girl. Ave leapt away and moved her hand toward her opponents. A swarm of crystals charged at the Flame Guardian.

"Traitors should suffer," Ave said as Miraki screamed in pain as the enchanted crystals cut through her armor and flesh. Bright silver blood splattered the ground and dripped down her arms and legs.

"I won't die. I won't die here! You will never kill me!" Miraki screamed and lunged for the young Guardian. The elder Guardians stared toward the two fighters and suddenly stopped as Ave gave a low laugh.

Miraki was impaled through the stomach on a crystal sword Ave had formed when she sent the wave of crystals out.

"Anger and fear blind the eyes and dull the senses," Ave growled and ripped the razor edged blade out from her dieing opponent. Ave gave her a cruel smirk before raising the blade and decapitating the Zenuan.

Turning her back on the fallen Guardian, Ave gave the others a good look over. She smirked and walked forward. Her blood splattered form seemed both beautiful and horrifying to those watching her.

"Primal," Karmena said firmly.

Ave grinned. "You can call me Ave, she-who-took-me-from-my-world."

"Ave? Why do you call yourself Ave?" Lescan said suddenly, trying to take his focus off of the massacre. He had never seen so much carnage before. It was making him ill.

"Eva is her name. I am her mirror-shadow. Thus, I am Ave. Listen, she needs to return. We need to return. Not soon, three years from now, we must return. The winds are telling of change. We will be at the center of it," the primal said. "Our destiny has only begun."

"She's going to need help to cope with this," Kumashi said softly.

"Not my problem," Ave said and closed her eyes. Her body slumped to the ground in a dead faint.

AND: Hope everyone like this. Only 1 more chapter for this story, then we go on to the next story. I'm going to call it…Alwas.


	21. May It Be: We Go On

May It Be: Innocence Lament

The first thing Shailana woke to was loud music of drums and flutes. She groaned and sat up, multicolored blankets pooling at her waist. Her Guardian armor had disappeared. Looking down at her ring, she frowned and placed her right hand to her temple. She had a horrible headache.

"You're awake," Karmena said from the front of the tent. She was the only Guardian there.

"Yes, mother," she said and went to stand up. "What happened?"

"You do not remember?" Karmena asked softly, her eyes holding sorrow and respect.

Shailana bowed her head and concentrated. She gasped as she got glimpses of what she had done. Her body went pale and she fell to her knees. Images of the blood and dead filled her mind. She found herself unable to stop the flooding images.

Then suddenly, she found herself in a black void.

"I was wondering when you'd get here," a voice very much like her own said. Shailana spun around and came to face herself, sort of.

This other her was clothed in very tight black clothing. She didn't think a shirt could be any tighter without revealing everything. It was sleeveless and exposed her midriff. The shorts the other being wore could only be described as mini. Shoes were sandals with wrappings going up to just under the knee.

She looked like a slut was Shailana's first thought.

"Ah, ah," the double said wagging her finger in Shailana's face. "You shouldn't call yourself names."

"What?" Shailana said.

The double grinned, revealing sharp canines. "I am you, well, a part of you. I am the more…animalistic side of you. You know the side that only needs three things."

"Oh, and what three things are that?" Shailana asked sarcastically.

"Food, fights and fucking," the double said simply. Shailana blinked a few times and laughed.

"So, who are you and where are we?" Shailana asked.

The other sighed. "We are in our mind, Eva. My name is Ave."

"What did you call me?" Shailana whispered softly.

"I called you by your name. You are Eva Wei. Never forget that, for that means forgetting mom," Ave said. "Anyway, I bet you want to know about what happened."

"The fight," Shailana whispered.

"That was all me. I'm your primal self. I exist now due to our Guardian energies. Ask Karmena-mother about it sometime," Ave said with a shrug. "I did all that fighting."

"So I did," Shailana whispered.

"In a way," Ave said and placed a hand on Shailana's shoulder. "We need to go back to Earth. Just listen. Yes, our old man is a jerk and an asshole, but the winds of change are blowing. I know you can sense it. We have three years until we need to be there. In the mean time, do what you want. Well, time to go back to the living world."

"Where are you going?" Shailana said as Ave walked away from her.

"I'll be here, watching and commenting on the stuff you do. I recommend you listen to me sometimes. Remember how I was born and what I live for," Ave said and disappeared, leaving Shailana alone. The darkness began to pulse with her heartbeat and suddenly she felt herself falling through the memories once more.

Opening her eyes, she found herself staring at the floor band began to cry at her actions. Nothing made sense anymore.

**"It's ok,"** Karmena whispered and held her eldest daughter as the young human sobbed.

**"What have I done?"** Shailana whispered and kept repeating the phrase over and over, looking at her hands.

**"Little one,"** Karmena began and stopped when Shailana held up a hand.

**"I have to atone for this,"** the human whispered.

Karmena sat back and watched her child. **"And how would you do that?"**

**"Do you know any healers?"** Shailana asked after a few minutes of thought. Karmena blinked and gave her child a Crog smile.

**"I'll talk to Lain. She's the Guardian of Oceans and a healer. She is licensed to teach,"** Karmena said and pulled her daughter up, drying tear tracks. "There is a celebration and the others want to talk with you. We will leave tomorrow."

The day passed and the other Guardians congratulated Shailana on her kills. Shailana turned away from their compliments and just smiled in return. She could not wait to return to Cresayes and to the warm arms of her family. Three years would come too soon. But, until that day came where she had to once more brave the Earth, she would train and learn as much as she could.

It was, after all, her destiny.

AND: Well, this is the end of Etruir. Move on to Alwas. It should be up in a few days. Keep watching for it.


End file.
